Welcome and Introduction

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Recording of Wednesday, June 19, 2024 | The smarter E Europe | Exhibition Program | Language: English | Duration: 15:07 .

PV Manufacturing Conference Opens with Focus on Technological Advancements and Market Dynamics, Celebrates 15th Anniversary of International Technology Roadmap

The session at the VDMA PV Manufacturing Stage focuses on photovoltaics (PV) production technologies and features Dr. Puzant Baliozian, leader of the Photovoltaics Equipment sector group. The discussion underscores the urgent need for sustainable development to combat climate change by expanding solar manufacturing capacities. The talk maps out historical advancements in PV technology starting with early lab-scale successes in silicon-based solar cells achieving 6% efficiency, evolving through various technological improvements over time. Key milestones include significant efficiency gains achieved by perovskite-silicon tandem cells, reaching up to 34.6% in laboratory settings. Additionally, it highlights a learning rate indicating a consistent reduction in module prices concomitant with increased cumulative shipments, though influenced by factors like market overcapacity. Dr. Puzant Baliozian details VDMA's role as Europe’s largest network for equipment suppliers including sectors from textiles to heavy steel industry and photovoltaics. Celebrating its 15th anniversary edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics (ITRPV), this roadmap provides decade-long projections on technology and techno-economic assessments which are available online or at their event stand. This comprehensive narrative showcases both past achievements and promising future directions within photovoltaic research and industrial applications facilitated by collaborative efforts among European manufacturers under VDMA’s overarching guidance.

Automated summarization by AI Conver

The technology for wafer, cell, and module production is continuously advancing. Currently, silicon-based solar modules hold approximately 97 percent of the global market share. While the passivated emitter and rear cell concept (PERC) remains prevalent, there is a notable shift towards tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon), expected to lead in terms of market share by the end of 2024, alongside silicon heterojunction (SHJ), and interdigitated back contact (IBC) cells. The transition to these technologies is fast, for which innovative cell manufacturing approaches are considered.European machine manufacturers are at the forefront of providing solutions to the global market. Their cutting-edge equipment is designed to facilitate the high-quality and efficient production of solar cells. In this session, machine and equipment suppliers, together with European cell manufacturers, will discuss the current state-of-the-art production technology and future trends in the post-TW market.

Further Talks of this session:

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